1. Field of the Invention:
This invention pertains to railway vehicle underframes and in particular to that portion of the underframe associated with the draft sill and the associated center sill connection in the area of the bolster and center filler.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Prior art draft sill arrangements have been faced with the problem of minimizing the depth of the draft sill because of space limitations which must be maintained between the top of the truck center plate and the level of a deck. Prior draft sills have sought to compensate for the shallower beam depth of the draft sill by utilization of both elaborate reinforcing ribs abutting the draft gear step lugs and highly reinforced center fillers to thereby efficiently transfer buff and draft forces out of the draft sill and into the center sill beam. By overlapping the draft sill bottom flange with both the bottom cover plate of a transition sill extension and an extension of the center filler bottom cover plate, there is provided an improved draft sill reinforcing structure which evenly transmits longitudinal forces into the flange area of the draft sill beam for dissipation into the transition sill and consequent transmission into the deep beam center sill which has adequate section strength to absorb both extreme buff and extreme draft loading.